On Tuesday of this week and after a two year hiatus, Texas residents were promised the opportunity to apply for rental assistance for two weeks through the Texas Rent Relief program. Wednesday it was announced because of the deluge of applications, the program now will shut down on Thursday at noon.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs announced that the number of requests received within the first 24 hours exceeded the $96 million in relief funds available to distribute.
This amount of applications also led to a system error, where renters and landlords applying could not access new applications online, housing department personnel said.
This issue has since been fixed and the department asked all residents who were in the process of applying to ensure all the required documents are uploaded and submitted by the new deadline.
This will allow the program staff to process the applications and distribute the funds quicker for those requesting assistance.
These funds will cover up to 18 months of rental and utility costs for new-time applicants; including past due, current and up to three months of future payments. For renters or landlords that are re-applying, they are able to have the number of remaining months from their total 18 covered.
Applicants facing eviction will still be prioritized in the process despite the earlier cut-off, as long as they include a valid eviction docket number.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
